Resurgent Muguruza secures berth to her first Australian Open semifinal

The Spaniard defeated in-form Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5 6-3 in an hour and 35 minutes in a match that was plagued by inconsistent serving and frequent breaks of serve.

Muguruza committed three double faults in the first serve, and perhaps her saving grace was that her opponent committed five. Neither woman was particularly steady from the baseline but Muguruza played the big points better. After exchanging breaks of serve, it was Pavlyuchenkova who finally faltered when serving to stay in the set, losing it 5-7 in just under an hour.

The former French Open champion appeared more composed in the second set, hitting just one double fault along with four aces. She employed the aggressive game that saw her ease past Bertens in the previous round. After losing her serve in the opening game, Muguruza broke her opponent twice before serving out the match.

Muguruza next faces Simona Halep, who crushed Anett Kontaveit in the day's other quarterfinal match. Someone just needs to tell her that.

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